


Seize The Night

by bluejoseph



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Biker AU, College, M/M, Motorcycles, Strangers to Lovers, gas stations, long nights
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-29 16:02:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16267580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluejoseph/pseuds/bluejoseph
Summary: It was nearly two in the morning when the biker came to the gas station. The timing, perhaps, was part of what made Josh think that the whole thing had been a hallucination.





	Seize The Night

**Author's Note:**

> Tags and rating will be updated as the story progresses.

It was nearly two in the morning when the biker came to the gas station. The timing, perhaps, was part of what made Josh think that the whole thing had been a hallucination.

The gas station itself was on a dusty little road winding through the Nevada desert. They would get travelers, sure, but mostly only during the day. Most of the travelers would get their gasoline and leave, although a few would come into the small store to get food or use the restroom.

Joshua wasn't supposed to let the customers use the restroom unless they were buying something, but he always did, anyway. 

His parents were the ones who owned the gas station, with the house the family lived in being about a mile down the road. In the morning, Josh would walk to the gas station and open up shop, eventually closing it sometime around three in the morning and walking back home along the side of the road. His parents wanted the gas station to be open for as long as possible, because sometimes a few stragglers would come down the road late at night, in desperate need of food, fuel, and a place to stop for a moment.

Josh didn't like working at the gas station very much, but his parents had agreed to pay for one semester of college for every summer he worked. Besides, he usually didn't sleep well anyway, so the long hours didn't bother him much.

It was the boredom that got to him. The hours of standing at a counter, putting items on the shelves, labeling things with price tags and discount stickers; it was repetitive, that was clear. If there wasn't anything he had to do, Josh could read a magazine, or help himself to a snack or a drink, but you could only do that for so long before it all blended together.

It was not unlike seeing a familiar place at an unholy hour, or hearing a dog bark in the dead of night. To Josh, working at the gas station would start to feel surreal after about an hour, and especially so in the afternoons and evenings.

This surrealism was a large part of why Josh questioned the appearance of the biker.

It was a Wednesday night, or rather, morning; the analog clock hanging above the counter let Josh know it was just after 2AM. He was flipping through a book he'd brought from home—he'd recently started sneaking one in his backpack for the past few days—and trying not to look at the clock, lest he be disappointed by the hour it showed him.

He was just about to finish his chapter when he heard the roar of a motorcycle engine. Glancing up, he saw a patron filling their bike at the pump. Since Josh wasn't required to go out and help, he went back to his book.

He was startled from his reading once more when the patron opened the door to the shop, causing the bell to ring. Josh glanced up from the page to see the customer.

Normally, Josh would've just said 'need help finding anything?' and when the customer said no, he would've gone back whatever he was doing before. This customer, however, was like none other he had seen before, at least not at this hour.

Most people that came in around 2AM were clearly haggard and worn from travel. This man, however, showed weariness only in the bags under his eyes. He had a black leather jacket over a white t-shirt, paired with a pair of jeans with holes scattered here and there. His skin was a smooth tan, which made sense to Josh at the time but almost certainly wouldn't later. 

It's not every day that a gorgeous stranger comes into a gas station.

Josh could do nothing but stare as the customer walked about the store, the sound of his black boots thumping slightly on the cheap tile floor. He didn't rush for the bathroom like most 2AM customers, but casually perused the items on the shelves. 

The customer suddenly turned his head in Josh's direction, as if he knew he was being stared at. Embarrassed, Josh looked back at his book. He pretended to read, but kept glancing up at the man as he slinked up and down the aisles.

He was startled slightly when he heard a soft thump and looked up to see two small packages of snack cakes on the counter, one white chocolate, one milk chocolate. Heart in his throat, Josh scanned the items. “That'll be five forty-one.” 

As the customer rifled through his jacket pocket for change, Josh scrambled for something normal to say. “Nice night, isn't it?”

The man set his change on the counter but said nothing. Josh was almost concerned that the man hadn't heard him, but then he spoke up. “Yeah, I guess.” 

Before either of them could say anything else, the stranger left the store as suddenly as he had arrived, slipping the snack cakes into his pockets, and hopping onto his motorcycle. Josh couldn't help it; he left his post at the counter to go to the front window, partially obscured by ads for cigarettes and extra large sodas. He watched, intrigued, as the stranger roared away into the distance.

He was definitely hallucinating.


End file.
